That reminds me of the matter of speed. The Lady Sophia has some electrical problems, and she goes forward only at full speed. This proved to be too fast for most situations in BRC. No speedometer, but it was probably something like 10 or maybe even 15 mph. So I was constantly stepping on and off the accelerator to keep the speed down.

I know that Recoil's gasoline engine works entirely differently, but it's something to keep in mind.

If a golf cart is geared to go up to 15 mph on the golf course, it might be a good idea to gear it down to 5 mph, and you would get three times the torque for pulling more passengers and flapping the wings.

Jafe, perhaps there is a way you could downgear yours to avoid that engine overheating?

ya i was thinking on the speed problem my self but i found that for the gas engines at least you can buy a after market tork spring that will reduce the top end speed and give you some more low end tork but by how much i do not know, not to sure on what to do with electric but if it use's the same drive train as a gas you might have to pull it apart to regrease it so that it engages properly, never seen under the hood of a electric tho so i'm not sure on that BUT i have a great forum that has been fantastic with info for carts and the people really know there stuff

if the spring dosent ''gear'' it down enough speed wise im not sure what else i could do to bring it down to the right speed

i will defently be putting in a fan to blow on the engine wired to the power system so it will only blow when running, the more and more i dig into this project the more i think i am going to HAVE to get a geny to do it the right way with the least problems

A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"

Elliot, I am considering changing the gearing somewhere...about 1/2 speed (and double the torque) sounds good. I think another issue was the engine not getting enough air. Originally I had a "snorkle" that was a 4" dryer hose attached via a 1" elbow (original air manifold had 1" hole). The idea was to draw "clean" air from ~7' up, thus limiting the dust the air filter had to catch. Although this seemed to work OK at home, it did not work on the Playa, the engine being "gutless" and overheating quickly. I removed the link (returning the system to the original) but still had issues with the air filter dusting up quickly. I ended up cleaning the air filter at every stop, and had to clean it every ~30 minutes of operation or the engine would over heat & stall. Once the engine was smoking, it was so hot (had the extinguisher out for that one!) - this was after driving back from the trash fence thru the deep stuff for 15 minutes or so of "pedal-to-the-metal" driving barely moving with 3 passengers, since if I had stopped or slowed we would have been stuck.

If I keep the golf cart, in addition to the gearing, I will be stripping it down to the frame and removing every ounce of weight, make light weight seats, etc. and have an improved air system that delivers clean, cool, air in large amounts to the engine. An engine oil thermometer might not be a bad idea either....

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer

Weight (mass) is indeed the Great Enemy. Some of us know that from our construction and use of human-powered vehicles.

As for air, I was actually thinking of cooling air, not combustion air. If you lose power when your gasoline engine gets very hot, it may be on the verge of seizing. Or the piston rings may be softening, which would be permanent. Ages ago when I was an automobile mechanic, a car was towed into the shop with a burst radiator hose. The owner had kept driving until it would go no further. It would crank, but not fire. When we disassembled the engine, we found that the piston rings, which are normally very hard and stiff, were now so pliable that we could twist them like paper clips. The rings had been so hot that they had lost their original heat-tempering. I'm thinking that this might happen to an engine in Playa service.

part of the issue as i understand is that there made to run at full speed for the air cooling so even if you get it tuned down gear wise you are still having to deal with getting the air flow it needs to function. Hopfully putting a fan on the engine is enough to keep it cool

A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"

after some brain storming with a few friends and trying over and over to solve some issues i decided to change the cosept to something much more do able and fun

chickzilla!

i can use the window moter idea on the head to give it a very jerky feel like a real rooster, the wings will flap with the use of cable and a counter weight spring but since they wont be up at all times the risk of getting damaged in a dust storm is much lower then in the dragon

would like to have a fire poofer in his beak but with the idea to make the head move im not to sure on how well that will work out till i talk it over with a buddy of mine who has some experience with propain effects

the deck will be up about 5ish feet (depends on the proportion of course) so it will be like we will be riding it

the tail that is drawn there was just a place holder, i have a very sweet idea for a tail that i think will work out great hehe

A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"

Here's my experience. For two years our group brought a Yamaha G2 (I think) gas powered golf based mutant vehicle. We left the structure of the golf cart original because it was borrowed. The mutated part was a steel frame that went over the cart that increased the seating from 2 to 6. To support the extra weight we added a fifth wheel in the back. The frame and full camouflage probably added an extra 450-550 lbs. We did nothing to increase airflow, ventilation or change the gearing. We had very good luck and the cart was very reliable. We used it every day and night. The motor never struggled with the extra weight even in the deeper stuff. And it didn't show any signs of over heating.